NTSB CAROL · Event
Event CEN10CA548
Registry · N4610H
FAA Aircraft Registry record.
Make / Model
PIPER PA-17
Year of manufacture
1948 · 62 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR A&C65 SERIES (65 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19560120
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A59FB2
Registrant of record
DUCK DONALD E
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
A total loss of engine power during takeoff due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot’s improper fuel planning.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that the fuel gauge indicated about 1/2 tank during his preflight. He took a passenger for a 45-minute flight and landed. He reported that during the takeoff on the second flight, the airplane reached about 150 feet of altitude when the engine started to sputter and then quit. He started to turn back to the private airstrip, but the airplane started to stall to the left. He applied full right rudder and aileron. The airplane hit the ground in about a 30 degrees left wing low attitude which caused substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. The inspection of the airplane revealed that there was no fuel in the tanks. The pilot reported that the airplane's fuel gauge indicated that the fuel tanks were about half full during his preflight inspection. He conducted a 45-minute flight and landed. During takeoff on the second flight, the airplane reached about 150 feet of altitude when the engine started to sputter and subsequently experienced a total loss of power. The pilot initiated a return to the private airstrip and during the turn the airplane stalled. The airplane impacted the ground in a left-wing-low attitude, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that there was no fuel in the tanks. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12
NTSB Findings
Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).
- C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Inadequate inspection - C
- C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2010_CEN10CA548.txt.
Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb.
Full investigation docket on
data.ntsb.gov ↗.
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Related research
What the literature says.
Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall, fuel exhaustion). Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.
- NASA NTRS 2026 · Conference Paper
Computational Analysis of Steady State Aerodynamics of Transonic Truss-Braced Wing Configuration in Deep Stall
This study presents a computational investigation of steady state aerodynamics of the Subsonic Ultra-Green Aircraft Research (SUGAR) Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) configuration over a wide range …
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Automating Bird Diverter Installation through Multi-Aerial Robots and Signal Temporal Logic Specifications
This paper tackles the task assignment and trajectory generation problem for bird diverter installation using a fleet of multi-rotors.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Variation of Critical Crystallization Pressure for the Formation of Square Ice in Graphene Nanocapillaries
Two-dimensional square ice in graphene nanocapillaries at room temperature is a fascinating phenomenon and has been confirmed experimentally.
- arXiv 2023 · arXiv preprint
Polycrystallinity enhances stress build-up around ice
Damage caused by freezing wet, porous materials is a widespread problem, but is hard to predict or control. Here, we show that polycrystallinity makes a great difference to the stress build-up process…
- arXiv 2022 · arXiv preprint
Enhanced Prediction of Three-dimensional Finite Iced Wing Separated Flow Near Stall
Icing on three-dimensional wings causes severe flow separation near stall. Standard improved delayed detached eddy simulation (IDDES) is unable to correctly predict the separating reattaching flow due…
- Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons 2021 · Journal article (JAAER)
Analysis on the Negative Emotional, Physiological, and Cognitive Responses Elicited from of the Activation of a Stall Alarm
Failing to identify an aerodynamic stall can lead to the inability of an aircraft to sustain flight. To warn pilots of an impending or fully-developed stall, many aircraft have safety devices installe…
Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗